Everything You Need to Know About the Nintendo Switch

The Switch will hit stores on March 3, 2017 at $299.99 USD.

conference gave us plenty of new information about Nintendo’s upcoming system, as well as first- and third-party games headed to the platform.

Here’s everything we know about the Nintendo Switch so far.

Nintendo Switch Price, Release Date, Specs, and More

A release date and price for the Nintendo Switch were finally announced. The Nintendo Switch will launch on March 3, 2017 simultaneously in Japan, the US, Canada, “major European countries,” Hong Kong, and “other territories” (including Australia) at a suggested retail price of $299.99 USD. (29,980 yen, $469.95 AUD).

Besides the Nintendo Switch console itself, the system comes with the L and R Joy-Con controllers, Joy-Con wrist straps, the Joy-Con grip, the Nintendo Switch dock, an HDMI cable, and an AC adapter. There is one model with gray controllers, and another model with one neon red and one neon blue, which will be the same suggested retail price. The Pro controller is sold separately.

The Switch has 32GB of internal memory, which can be expanded using microSDXC cards. The screen is a 6.2-inch, "multi-touch capacitative touch screen" which can support a resolution of 1280 x 720. While the tablet is 720p, it can switch to 1080p when docked and outputting to a TV.

Nintendo Switch Playstyles

Nintendo went into more detail about the Switch’s versatile “playstyles” shown off in its initial preview video from last October.

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TV mode lets you play on the TV in “typical” video game fashion, tabletop mode lets you stand the Nintendo Switch tablet on a surface using its kickstand, which is then played with the detached Joy-Con controllers. The portable handheld mode is played by attaching the left and right Joy-Con controllers to the system.

You can also connect up to eight Nintendo Switch consoles together for local multiplayer.

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controllers

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The Joy-Con controllers, which also come in red and blue color schemes, have a few basic setups. The “basic” controller mode is when both the left and right controllers are attached to the Joy-Con grip, which can be used to play games in TV mode. But the two controllers can also function as individual controllers — you can hand one to a friend to play certain multiplayer games.

Joycon Controllers.

The controllers include A, B, X, Y buttons, as well as L and R buttons and a Home button. (Attachable wrist straps add more prominent L and R buttons.) Each controller has an analog stick that also functions as a button. A new, square “capture” button can be used to capture screenshots of gameplay which you can share on social media. In the future, you’ll be able to use this to capture video footage too, according to Nintendo.

Both Joy-Con controllers include accelerometers, gyrosensors, and an “HD rumble system” that adds new levels of sensitivity to motion-based gameplay. The R controller also has a motion-IR camera that can sense the shape, motion, and distance of objects in front of it. Head to our Nintendo Switch wiki page for more on the Joy-Con controllers.